MPC
20th September 2020.September 20 - Psalm 116 - "Delivered"
MPC
20th September 2020.
Doug Wannenburgh
Parenting is a tough gig. There are some words that are tough to teach our kids!
Like sorry!
I forgive you!
Please.
And thank you.
Now I just want to focus on the words 'please' and 'thanks'.
'Please' and 'thank you' don't come naturally to us, whether young or old.
Both require humility - a recognition that one is not self-sufficient.
'Please' means asking someone else for help.
'Thank you' means acknowledging someone else has helped.
An American soldier in wwii, had been serving on the front line.
He was given a time of leave and went to one of the rest camps that General Patton had established for soldiers to be looked after.
On his return to the frontline he wrote a letter to General Patton saying 'thank you'.
Patton wrote back.
Saying that in 35 years in the army he had sought to care for and look after the soldiers under his care
but this was the first letter of thanks he had ever received.
All the more important to ask and be thankful when it comes to God!
And that's what this Psalm deals with.
The Psalmist was in a very difficult situation, a deadly situation, desperate situation.
Verse 3.
"The cords of death entangled me,the anguish of the grave came over me;I was overcome by distress and sorrow."
It seems the Psalmist has one foot in the grave.
He's in the icy grip of death, a rope around his neck.
He feels his time is up.
And his overwhelmed by trouble, overcome by sorrow.
the sorrow and anguish of the grave.
Verse 8 tells us his eyes are wet with tears, that he stumbles around.
In verse 10, that he's greatly afflicted.
We're not told what the affliction is, specifically.
Perhaps illness.
Perhaps it was something others had done to him.
He calls all men liars in verse 11,
so maybe his been hurt by others.
But whatever it was
his left staring death in the face.
Now not many of us can identify literally.
Some of us may have been close to death,
and you'll know the reality of these verses.
But most wouldn't.
Though all of us will know
the feeling of being totally overwhelmed by trouble or sorrow,
feeling submerged by the pain of a difficult situation,
experiencing a sense of being helpless.
Now, this illustrates or points to a far deeper helplessness each one of us faces.
Spiritually speaking, we've turned away from God.
We're rebels enslaved to sin,
living life on our own terms,
leading lives that take us away from God.
And as a result we're gripped by death,
Not just physical, but spiritual death.
Separated from God.
Spiritually speaking, the cords of death are around our throats.
We're helpless. Overwhelmed.
Whether we admit it or not, sin puts all of us in a desperately difficult situation.
Now, in this grave situation, the Psalmist responds with a 'please' and a 'thanks'.
a. Call on the Lord
Please means asking for help. And this Psalmist speaks up, cries out.
Verse 1.
"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;he heard my cry for mercy." (1-2)
When facing death, verse 4.
"[He] called on the name of the Lord: 'Lord, save me!'"
He calls and the Lord answers. God saves. Verse 6.
"The Lord protects the unwary [the simple-hearted], when I was brought low, he saved me."
Verse 8.
"For you, Lord, delivered me from death"
Now again, we don't know the details of how God specifically rescued the psalmist.
But He did.
b. Character of the Lord
So let's consider then, why did the psalmist call on the Lord?
What about God made the psalmist say 'please'.
God's character and nature.
In verse 4, he "called on the name of the Lord" name of the Lord.
A name, in the ancient world, summed up the character of a person.
It's the handle on a suitcase
that carries or represents that person's characteristics.
And what specifically here is that name?
Well, the word used for 'Lord' in verse 4 is the Hebrew word yahweh.
Used 17 times in the psalm.
It's a special name,
the covenant name for God.
The name God reveals to those who are His people.
God's personal/intimate name.
Now the great description of the character of the covenant God, which comes up over and over again in the Old Testament, is, and let me quote from Exodus 34.
"The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6)
That verse is echoed in this psalm. Verse 5.
"The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion."
What gives the psalmist confidence in God is that God is gracious, righteous, compassionate.
The Lord is loving and good.
And, verse 7, His good to the psalmist.
God loves His children. He's good to us.
On the other hand, God is sovereign.
He is God after all.
And controls everything.
And so.
He protects, He saves, He delivers.
His children.
That's His track record.
Throughout the history of ot Israel.
The Lord's love is unchanging.
He is faithful.
c. Trust in the Lord
Which means He can be trusted.
Verse 10.
The psalmist declares;
"I trusted in the Lord"
The Lord is a covenant God whose committed to us.
He's good and loving to us.
And He's sovereign, controlling all things.
And that should be a source of great comfort and strength.
If God was sovereign, but not good/loving then we won't want to ask Him, we'd be afraid he'd do us harm.
And if God was good/loving, but not sovereign then we won't bother asking Him, 'cos He can't change things.
But if God is both good/loving and sovereign, then He can be trusted.
He can act.
He will act.
And He will do you good, not harm.
He's committed to working out His good purposes in your life.
Now don't be mistaken, this doesn't mean that we will be saved from every difficult situation.
The psalmist was saved here.
And all who trust God are saved from sin and eternal death.
But we're not all saved from every difficult situation.
God won't necessarily take away your problem.
But He will be with us.
And He will be working for us, for our good.
Now, it's also important to realize that weakness is not wrong.
In verse 10 the psalmist says;
"I am greatly afflicted."
And yet, in his affliction, he calls on God,
in helplessness he cries out,
in weakness he trusts.
A feeling of helplessness is not necessarily due to a lack of faith, or to weakness.
Indeed, a failure to feel helpless can be due to arrogance and self-righteousness, a sense of self-sufficiency.
No, a feeling of helplessness is often just a fact of living in a broken world where there's sin and sickness and death
It's ok, indeed healthy, to feel helpless, overwhelmed.
What's important is what we do with it.
Do we cry to the Lord?
'Cos that's how we show our faith.
Crying out to God, 'Help me!'
In trouble turning to the Lord.
You see, in tough times faith isn't theoretical. It's got to have legs. Faith works. It's put into action.
Whatever you're going through, if you're going through the mill at the moment, be assured, you can throw yourself upon the mercy and grace of God. 'Cos He is totally trustworthy.
Ultimately this rescue points to the great rescue;
From the worst of situations.
The situation of sin.
And the rescue that God provided in Jesus Christ,
Who bore our penalty,
Who was afflicted for our sin,
And so we enjoy forgiveness,
rest,
new life,
a relationship with God.
God is trustworthy
So pray.
call on Him.
Say 'please'.
trust Him.
And then say thanks.
Verse 12 stands at the heart of this Psalm.
"What shall I return to [or How can I repay] the Lord for all His goodness to me?"
How do you repay God for His rescue?
The answer is
you can't.
And you don't have too.
We don't achieve salvation.
We receive salvation.
We're saved by trusting Christ.
But what follows trust is thanks.
God wants us to respond to His grace with gratitude.
You see, thanking God is not a matter of a bunch of flowers or a nice card.
Verses 1 and 2 give us the only appropriate response.
lifelong love and devotion.
Verse 1.
"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;he heard my cry for mercy.2 Because he turned his ear to me,I will call on him as long as I live." (1-2)
I love the Lord as long as I live.
Lifelong loving devotion.
Personal intimacy.
At weddings, people promise to love each other for life.
When we enter into relationship with God, when we covenant with Him,
we promise to love Him with our lives.
"I love the Lord"
Perhaps we may ask ourselves; Is that my response? Your response?
Can you or I honestly say that we love the Lord? Deeply?
And that, that love is life-encompassing.
Reaching into every area and aspect of our personalities, our desires, our actions, our thoughts.
And loving God means obeying God.
Obedience is love made visible.
Following His ways.
Keeping His commands.
Living to please Him.
As verse 9 says, He wants us to;
"walk before the Lord"
And, a life filled with love for God, a life walked before the face of God,
is a life marked, in this psalm, by three things.
a. Pray
First. prayer. That is, the psalmist resolves to call on the Lord all his life.
Verse 2. End of the verse.
"I will call on Him as long as I live."
Verse 13. "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord."
Verse 17. "I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord."
He calls on the Lord.
That is, he speaks or prays to the Lord.
Prayer is the ultimate expression of dependence.
Prayer expresses our dependence upon the Lord for all things.
Precisely because we know God, and we know His good and sovereign,
we ask, we pray.
So, may I ask, how's our prayer life?
Is prayer woven into the very fabric of my life? And yours?
Or Is prayer a chore?
Is it a hobby?
A 'once a while' sort of thing? When I can 'spare the time' sort of thing?
Or do we love and delight to talk to God?
b. Serve
Pray.
Secondly, serve.
Verse 16.
"Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains."
Jesus sets us free to serve Him.
Set free to serve.
He rescued me. I love Him. And I'll serve Him all the days of my life.
And notice the focus of that service?
Where it takes place?
Verse 14.
"I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people."
Verse 18.
"I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord - in your midst, Jerusalem."
We serve the world, we serve in the world,
but our service is most focused in his people. God's church.
We're the body of Christ, and we need each other.
So, let me ask, how's my service? Yours?
Is it drudgery, or a delight?
Let's not grow weary of serving one another. Let's serve God's family with joy and gratitude.
'Cos you remember why.
Why help with morning tea or the crèche or visiting the elderly or giving or sharing a meal or caring and counselling, or
Not simply because I can.
Not merely because there's a need.
but because Christ died for you!
c. Tell
Pray. Serve. And thirdly, tell.
The psalmist has experience being saved.
He wants to tell people, tell everyone.
He wants to praise God publicly.
You see, this psalm is a psalm of praise.
That's how the psalmist ends. That's where he wants to take us.
Verse 18.
Verses 18 "I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the house of the Lord - in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord."
He is off to the temple to tell people.
Good news must be shared.
If you're not yet a follower of Jesus
If you're a follower of Jesus, we've got the best news.
Jesus has rescued us from hell and damnation.
When you've received
such amazing grace,
such endless mercy,
such wonderful salvation,
what could possibly hold us back from proclaiming it to the world?
Surely not fear of what people will say or think,
surely not embarrassment.
d. Summary
Pray, serve, tell.
These are clear marks of a life of love, love for the Lord.
A lifelong devotion to God.
A life of thanks.
When I speak to people who are struggling, who are facing trials, who are dealing with disappointment,
sometimes I refrain from offering advice,
and I simply say what I think they need to hear, what I need to hear,
and that's, 'God loves you'.
You are deeply and profoundly loved by God.
He loves you.
And, as with the psalmist, may we be able to say,
'I love the Lord.'